Read Online Desert Guardian by Karen Duvall - Free Book Online Page B
Authors: Karen Duvall
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least until she's more
secure with the outside world. She lived a sheltered and unnatural life with
those people. Part of her therapy has been to reenter society, interact with
people, go shopping, go to the movies, visit with family, and most important,
not focus on her experience with the cult."
"I'm
sorry," Kelly said. "I didn't realize."
"I
doubt you did any damage," he said, sounding apologetic. "Consuela
obviously knew better than to stick around and be questioned by you. Her behavior
indicates a positive step in her recovery."
Kelly
patted her chest to slow her heart's pounding. She would never forgive herself
if Consuela suffered a relapse because of her. "You don't know how glad I
am to hear that."
"Any
luck with your search on the Internet?"
"Not
yet, but I'm working on it."
"We
also need to talk about our plan for Jake's intervention. From everything you've
told me, he's happy with his new family. We'll need his cooperation to make
this work."
"He'll
cooperate," she said, a niggle of doubt making her stomach ache. "He
listens to me, Sam. He'll do what I tell him."
There
was a long pause before he said, "How can you be so sure? Kelly, the boy
was abandoned as a teenager. I know how much you love him, and I don't mean to
make you feel worse than you already do, but let's be logical. He's in what he
believes to be a safe place, with people who accept him for who he is, people
he believes care about him. Can you compete with that?"
Kelly
squeezed her eyes shut to hold back the tears. She hated herself at that
moment, even more than she hated her father, which was saying a lot. If only
she could turn back time and change everything to how it’d been before she left
home. Their home life hadn't been perfect by any means, but it was better than
Jake living with a cult determined to kill him. In a voice so soft she barely
heard herself speak, she said, "All I can offer him is my love."
"That's
fair," Sam said. "And we're going to make it be enough. I promise. I'll
come up with a plan, okay? Hang in there. Dial star five if you need me, and
you know where my .38 is if you absolutely need it. I'm heading home. I'll be
there in ten minutes, fifteen tops." Then he hung up.
"Wait—"
But she spoke to a dial tone. She'd been about to say, "Please hurry."
The
quiet of the cabin permeated her skin like the room's icy air. She shivered and
glanced at the black fireplace, its embers as cold as the hearth itself. And
not a stick of firewood in sight.
"Terrific,"
she mumbled, traipsing through the kitchen toward the utility room, where she
hoped to find a stack of firewood beside the back door. No such luck. Then she
remembered the neat rows of logs not far from where they'd found Cody that
morning.
Surely
Sam didn't mean for her to freeze to death. Going out in the backyard for a
little firewood shouldn't be risky. He'd told her not to open the door for
anyone, and since no one was at the door... It would take her less than five
minutes to get what she needed.
She
glanced out back to make sure no one was there then yanked a plaid flannel
shirt from a peg on the wall and shrugged it on. There were patches on the
elbows, and the soft, worn fabric smelled like Sam. She tugged the collar up to
her nose and inhaled the hearty scent of soap and wood smoke. She shouldn't
like it as much as she did, but her first thought was to bundle the shirt up in
her backpack and keep it.
After
glancing around for any suspicious-looking baskets that might hold a snake or
two, she trotted to the cache of carefully stacked wood. She quickly loaded her
arms with logs, making sure to include some dry bark and sticks for kindling.
Halfway back to the cabin, she heard a noise in the woods to her right. She
stopped to listen. A twig snapped then a squirrel scampered out from around
that side of the cabin. She let out a breath and continued along the narrow
dirt path to the cabin's back door.
Her
arms were so full that she had trouble closing
secure with the outside world. She lived a sheltered and unnatural life with
those people. Part of her therapy has been to reenter society, interact with
people, go shopping, go to the movies, visit with family, and most important,
not focus on her experience with the cult."
"I'm
sorry," Kelly said. "I didn't realize."
"I
doubt you did any damage," he said, sounding apologetic. "Consuela
obviously knew better than to stick around and be questioned by you. Her behavior
indicates a positive step in her recovery."
Kelly
patted her chest to slow her heart's pounding. She would never forgive herself
if Consuela suffered a relapse because of her. "You don't know how glad I
am to hear that."
"Any
luck with your search on the Internet?"
"Not
yet, but I'm working on it."
"We
also need to talk about our plan for Jake's intervention. From everything you've
told me, he's happy with his new family. We'll need his cooperation to make
this work."
"He'll
cooperate," she said, a niggle of doubt making her stomach ache. "He
listens to me, Sam. He'll do what I tell him."
There
was a long pause before he said, "How can you be so sure? Kelly, the boy
was abandoned as a teenager. I know how much you love him, and I don't mean to
make you feel worse than you already do, but let's be logical. He's in what he
believes to be a safe place, with people who accept him for who he is, people
he believes care about him. Can you compete with that?"
Kelly
squeezed her eyes shut to hold back the tears. She hated herself at that
moment, even more than she hated her father, which was saying a lot. If only
she could turn back time and change everything to how it’d been before she left
home. Their home life hadn't been perfect by any means, but it was better than
Jake living with a cult determined to kill him. In a voice so soft she barely
heard herself speak, she said, "All I can offer him is my love."
"That's
fair," Sam said. "And we're going to make it be enough. I promise. I'll
come up with a plan, okay? Hang in there. Dial star five if you need me, and
you know where my .38 is if you absolutely need it. I'm heading home. I'll be
there in ten minutes, fifteen tops." Then he hung up.
"Wait—"
But she spoke to a dial tone. She'd been about to say, "Please hurry."
The
quiet of the cabin permeated her skin like the room's icy air. She shivered and
glanced at the black fireplace, its embers as cold as the hearth itself. And
not a stick of firewood in sight.
"Terrific,"
she mumbled, traipsing through the kitchen toward the utility room, where she
hoped to find a stack of firewood beside the back door. No such luck. Then she
remembered the neat rows of logs not far from where they'd found Cody that
morning.
Surely
Sam didn't mean for her to freeze to death. Going out in the backyard for a
little firewood shouldn't be risky. He'd told her not to open the door for
anyone, and since no one was at the door... It would take her less than five
minutes to get what she needed.
She
glanced out back to make sure no one was there then yanked a plaid flannel
shirt from a peg on the wall and shrugged it on. There were patches on the
elbows, and the soft, worn fabric smelled like Sam. She tugged the collar up to
her nose and inhaled the hearty scent of soap and wood smoke. She shouldn't
like it as much as she did, but her first thought was to bundle the shirt up in
her backpack and keep it.
After
glancing around for any suspicious-looking baskets that might hold a snake or
two, she trotted to the cache of carefully stacked wood. She quickly loaded her
arms with logs, making sure to include some dry bark and sticks for kindling.
Halfway back to the cabin, she heard a noise in the woods to her right. She
stopped to listen. A twig snapped then a squirrel scampered out from around
that side of the cabin. She let out a breath and continued along the narrow
dirt path to the cabin's back door.
Her
arms were so full that she had trouble closing
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